CONS. 

TS 

547 

S3 

1909 


A  Practical  Treatise 

ON 

Repairing  Watch  Gases 


W.  SCHWANATUS 

AND 

WESLEY  FENIMORE 


CHICAGO: 

HAZLITT  &  WALKER,  Publishers 
1909 


Cow  S '  " 
T5  ■  '  ' 

S  3  '  : 

n'o^ 


I 


-I 


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1  • 


V  .• 


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PART  I. 


Page. 


Repairing  the  Pendant  . 5 

Lining  Pendant  Holes  .  9 

Work  at  the  Joints  . 10' 

Soldering  the  Bezel  . 14 

The  Closing  of  the  Case  . 1? 

Taking  Out  the  Dents  . 22 

Taking  out  the  Dents  from  Rims  . 23 

Removing  the  Dents  from  the  Bottom  . 23 


PART  II. 


Fitting  in  a  Movement  . 27 

Fastening  the  Bezel  . T . 28 

Solder  Used  on  Cases  . 30 

How  to  Solder  . 31 

/ 

Soldering  Joints  . 32 

Pendant  Set  Watches  . 32 

Case  Springs  .  33 


i 


WATCH  CASE  REPAIRING. 


PART  I - BY  W.  SCHWANATUS. 


During  the  pursuit  of  my  vocation  as  casemaker,  my  cus¬ 
tomers  have  frequently  solicited  me  to  write  on  the  minor 
repairs  of  watch  cases,  for  the  use  and  assistance  of  country 
watchmakers,  since  very  frequently  slightly  damaged  cases 
are  barely  worth  the  trouble  of  being  sent  to  the  casemaker. 
Impelled  by  these  opportunings,  I  have  finally  concluded 
to  do,  and  I  will  commence  with 

REPAIRING  THE  PENDANT. 

The  soldering  of  a  broken  pendant  is  a  job  of  frequent 
occurrence.  If  broken  off  smoothly,  which  is  often  the 
case,  it  is  not  necessary  to  put  a  piece  into  the  middle  part 
for  strengthening.  Before  attempting  the  work,  take  the 
case  completely  to  pieces.  Do  this  as  follows:  Gold  cases 
have  generally  three  pins  in  each  j.oint,  two  end  pins  and 
one  center  pin.  They  are  always  inserted  in  the  pendant 
from  right  to  left,  and  must  be  returned  again  in  the  same 
manner.  When  taking  the  case  to  pieces,  remove  the  end 
pins  with  a  graver,  which  is  not  difficult  to  be  done.  Firmly 
press  the  graver  into  the  ends  of  the  joint,  and  with  a  small, 
wriggling  motion  forward,  the  pin  is  easily  dislodged ;  it  is 
well  to  have  the  graver  fastened  in  a  handle,  as  it  offers 
more  firm.ness  in  its  manipulation.  The  end  pins  having 
been  removed,  take  a  well-filed  punch,  which  enters  firmly 
into  the  joint,  while  at  the  same  time  it  must  not  fit  too 
tightly,  since  it  would  widen  or  burst  the  latter.  It  is  well  to 
anneal  and  blue  the  punch,  as  it  must  be  the  main  object 
not  to  injure  the  joints.  Then  take  the  case  in  the  left  hand 

5 


6 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


as  well  as  the  punch,  and  with  a  small  hammer  give  a  few 
blows  upon  it  from  left  to  right,'  and  the  pin  will  soon 
appear.  The  pins  belonging  to  one  joint  must  be  carefully 
preserved,  and  returned  in  the  same  order. 

Have  a  care  that  the  punch  has  no  burr,  and  that  its 
point  be  rounded  off ;  we  casemakers  highly  value  a  good 
punch,  for  reasons  mentioned.  Should  the  pins  be  obstinate 
and  refuse  to  move,  strike  a  few  taps  upon  the  end  of  the 
joint,  widening  it  a  trifle,  and  the  end  pins  may  then  be 
taken  out.  When  out,  and  the  center  pin  should  be  inclined 
to  give  trouble,  it  may  be  treated  in  the  same  manner,  to  a 
few  slight  taps.  This  trouble  to  get  out  the  pins  is  very 
seldom  necessary. 

The  joint  sometimes  contains  an  entire  pin,  and  it  must 
then  be  pushed  out  with  a  flat  graver  from  left  to  right,  by 
placing  the  graver  at  the  ends  of  the  joints  firmly,  and  push¬ 
ing  it  forward  with  a  strong  pressure ;  for  greater  security 
and  steadier  motion,  brace  the  hand  with  the  case  against 
the  working  bench.  When  pressing  out  the  pins  do  not 
use  a  long  graver — ^the  shorter  it  is  the  greater  the  power 
that  can  be  developed  with  it.  If  the  pin  will  not  budge, 
widen  the  joints  with  the  hammer,  as  indicated  above.  The 
pin  may  also  at  times  be  pushed  out  from  right  to  left,  and 
it  occurs  at  times  that  a  punch  has  to  be  brought  into 
requisition. 

When  the  case  has  been  entirely  taken  apart,  inspect  it  to 
see  that  it  be  not  strengthened  with  pinchbeck  in  the  middle 
part,  or  that  the  pendant  be  not  lined  with  tin.  Unscrupu¬ 
lous  casemakers  sometimes  use  pieces  of  brass  for  strength¬ 
ening  the  middle  part,  and  solder  it  in  with  tin.  When  this 
is  present  the  novice  had  best  cease  from  repairs  and  send 
the  case  to  a  casemaker,  it  being  too  troublesome  to  the 
former  to-  remove  the  tin. 

We  will  presume  that  it  contains  none ;  there  is  little 
danger  of  injuring  a  case  by  soldering,  as  i8  or  14  karat 
gold  cannot  support  a  fair  degree  of  heat,  and  we  proceed 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


7 


as  follows :  Carefully  clean  the  surfaces  to  be  soldered,  and 
place  the  pendant  in  position  to  see  if  it  or  the  middle  of  the 
case  requires  bending.  When  it  has  been  reduced  to  its 
former  symmetry,  take  a  small  piece  of  stout  iron  or  steel 
wire,  push  it  through  the  bow  holes,  take  binding  wire  and 
lay  a  few  loops  around  the  middle  of  the  case.  Then  take 
the  pendant  and  lay  the  wire  around  the  iron  wire  in  the 
bow  holes ;  lay  the  binding  wire  again  around  the  middle 
part  and  draw  it  pretty  tight,  to  prevent  the  pendant  from 
moving.  When  sufficiently  secure,  again  inspect  it  that  it 
be  in  its  proper  position ;  then  take  a  piece  of  slate  and  a 
piece  of  borax,  rub  this  with  a  little  water  to  thin  paste 
upon  the  former,  brush  the  place  to  be  soldered  with  it,  and 
apply  the  solder  in  small  pieces  from  outside,  say  about 
in  the  center  of  the  middle  part.  Do  not  use  too  much, 
and  at  the  same  time  do  not  place  it  in  the  snap  of  the  case 
— rather  direct  upon  the  outer  broadside  of  the  middle  part 
of  the  pendant.  With  gold  cases  never  use  silver  solder, 
but  only  gold  solder.  The  middle  part  having  in  this  man¬ 
ner  been  prepared  for  soldering,  you  may  again  brush  the 
whole  with  borax. 

Next,  take  a  well  charred  piece  of  charcoal,  and  place  the 
middle  part  upon  it.  So  as  to  keep  it  from  falling  off,  place 
a  small  iron  wire  in  the  middle  of  the  coal  and  lay  the  middle 
part  in  it.  Then  solder  on  the  pendant,  with  a  small  alcohol 
lamp,  with  a  moderate  flame.  It  is  advisable  to  first  heat  the 
solder  a  little,  or  to  dry  the  borax,  so  that  it  remain  in  the 
position  in  which  it  was  placed,  to  which  attention  must  be 
directed.  All  care  must  also  be  taken  not  to  direct  the 
flame  upon  the  object  to  be  soldered,  but  warm  first  the  mid¬ 
dle  part,  dark  red,  and  slowly  pass  over  to  the  pendant. 
Soldering  must  be  successful  in  this  manner.  If  the  full 
flame  were  directed  at  once  upon  the  pendant  the  solder 
might  run  into  little  balls,  or  “corn,”  before  it  has  fused, 
and  I  would  most  decidedly  counsel  not  to  attempt  to  fuse 
these  balls.  Should  it  occur,  let  the  flame  become  steady 


8 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


and  the  object  cool;  remove  the  balls  and  apply  other 
solder  in  the  place.  Of  course,  the  repairer’s  eye  must, 
during^  soldering,  be  directed  upon  the  solder,  and  as  soon 
as  it  has  fused  the  flame  must  cease ;  do  not  attempt  by 
augmenting  the  heat  to  distribute  the  solder  over  different 
parts.  As  has  been  said  above,  there  is  no  need  to  antici¬ 
pate  the  melting,  especially  of  an  i8  or  14  karat  gold  case, 
by  gentle  treatment  and  steady  flame ;  simply  do  not  blow 
too  much.  When  the  solder  has  fused,  let  the  object  cool, 
and  inspect  it  to  see  that  it  is  to  your  satisfaction.  If  you 
find  an  occasional  spot  where  it  has  not  surrounded  the 
pendant,  lay  on  a  piece  of  solder;  should  you  see  a  hole, 
however,  put  in  a  piece  of  brass  or  pinchbeck,  lay  a  piece  of 
solder  over  it,  and  repeat  the  operation.*  I  would  specially 
remark  here,  that  too  much  solder  is  injurious.  Use  it 
sparingly. 

If  the  soldering  has  been  successful,  remove  the  wires, 
place  the  object  in  a  shallow  vessel  with  water,  and  add 
from  20  to  30  drops  of  sulphuric  acid,  in  order  to  remove 
the  fire  discoloration ;  an  excess  of  sulphuric  acid  is  not 
hurtful  to  the  gold  or  silver.  When  it  is  found  in  a  short 
time  that  the  discoloration  has  been  removed,  take  the  object 
from  the  pickle,  rinse  it  in  water,  and  dry  it  clean.  Should 
a  little  superfluous  solder  be  visible  from  the  outside,  seek 
to  take  it  off  with  a  file,  taking  care,  however,  not  to  deface 
the  shape  either  of  the  pendant  or  of  the  middle  piece.  If 
some  has  found  its  way  into  the  snap,  take  a  small  flat 
graver,  and  carefully  cut  it  away.  This  manipulation  must 
be  performed  still  more  carefully  than  that  of  the  filing, 
and  if  it  cannot  be  removed  without  injury,  it  is  better  to 
leave  a  little  solder  in  the  snap  than  to  injure  the  latter — 
it  will  do  no  damage.  Then  take  a  thin-cut  pegwood  and  a 
little  pumice  stone  and  water,  and  grind  the  soldered  place. 
The  other  parts  of  the  middle  part  can  be  treated  in  the 
same  manner  should  the}'-  show  traces  of  the  soldering. 
The  part  is  finally  brushed  with  a  chalk  brush,  to  remove 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


9 


the  adhering  pumice  stone,  and  polished  with  a  pegwood  or 
a  piece  of  cork  and  crocus  and  alcohol ;  whenever  the 
leather  buff  stick  can  be  used,  do  so. 

The  case  is  now  ready  to  put  together  again.  When 
doing  this,  file  the  center  pin  a  trifle  pointed  at  both  ends,  if 
the  old  one  is  used,  to  remove  any  burr.  Any  damage  to  the 
end  pins,  caused  when  taking  them  out,  is  to  be  removed 
with  a  very  fine  and  worn  file,  after  they  are  inserted  again 
in  the  joint.  The  last  piece  of  work  is  to  nicely  smooth 
the  joint  ends  with  such  a  file,  for  which  purpose  another 
case  may  be  taken  as  pattern.  Then  polish  them  with  a 
crocus  buff,  and  the  repair  is  ready  and  to  satisfaction,  if 
these  directions  have  been  adhered  to.  We  next  come  to 

LINING  PENDANT  HOLES, 

The  limng  of  the  pendant  is  an  easy  job,  especially 
if  the  case  is  without  spring  closing ;  but  even  cases  with 
spring  closing  belong  to  this  class  of  repairs. 

Never  line  the  pendant  by  riveting  in  a  tube,  or,  what  is 
still  worse,  with  tin.  Both  kinds  are  unknown  to  the  case- 
maker.  When  the  case  has  been  taken  apart,  the  trouble 
to  line  the  pendant  with  gold  solder  is  very  small ;  take 
no  brass  tube,  however,  but  rather  use  pinchbeck;  this  re¬ 
sembles  closer  the  color  of  gold.  The  holes  in  the  pendant 
must  first  be  filed  uniform  with  a  good  file ;  if  they  are 
w^n  out  upward,  which  is  often  the  case,  file  them  down¬ 
ward  ;  the  pendant  holes  can  more  properly  stand  a  little 
further  below  than  higher  up,  and  nothing  disfigures  a  case 
so  much  as  high  pendant  holes.  When  filed  out  to  satisfac¬ 
tion,  take  the  tube  and  fit  it  in  firmly;  take  care,  however, 
to  have  the  joint  below,  and  let  it  protrude  a  little  on  both 
sides.  Then  solder  it  in  place  with  borax  and  gold  solder. 
Cases  with  spring  closing  demand  the  additional  attention 
that  the  tubes  cased  for  lining  do  not  enter  too  far  into  the 
pendant,  so  that  sufficient  shake  is  left  for  the  push-spring, 
while  with  cases  without  them  the  tube  may  pass  entirely 


lO 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


through.  This  part  of  the  case,  after  finishing  the  job, 
is  immersed  in  the  pickle,  the  protruding  part  of  the  tube 
filed  off,  and  smoothed  with  a  worn  file,  level  with  the 
pendant,  care  being  necessary  not  to  injure  the  latter.  The 
scratches  of  the  file  are  removed  with  a  water  stone.  When 
this  has  been  done,  open  the  holes  uniformly  with  a  broach, 
and  then  hollow  them  out  with  a  chamferer,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  bow.  The  middle  part  is  finely  polished,  and  the 
case  put  together  again. 

WORK  AT  THE  JOINTS. 

A  skillful  workman  is  known  by  the  joints  he  makes, 
and  to  make  a  good  one  is  not  so  easy  as  might  appear 
at  first  glance.  I  will  endeavor  to  explain  it  as  briefly  as 
possible  to  the  watchmaker,  to  enable  him  to  do  many  a 
small  piece  of  work  himself,  but  will  preface  any  remarks 
by  saying  that  a  good  amount  of  skill,  alertness  and  dili¬ 
gence,  are  necessary.  Casemakers  frequently  handle  watch 
cases  repaired  by  jewelers  and  others,  who  boast  of  their 
ability  to  repair  cases,  but,  generally  speaking,  the  case  is 
botched,  and  entirely  ruined.  I  would  dissuade,  therefore, 
from  giving  such  a  job  to  a  jeweler,  if  two  or  three  new 
joints  are  to  be  made  to  the  case. 

If,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  the  middle  joint  of  the  case 
has  become  loosened,  by  reason  of  faulty  soldering,  take  the 
case  apart  with  flat  pliers,  bend  the  loose  joint  together, 
should  it  have  opened  somewhat,  then  place  it  between  the 
two  bottom  joints,  and  carefully  inspect  it  to  see  that  it  lies 
at  the  same  height  with  them.  When  this  has  been  set  in 
order,  clear  the  part  at  the  middle  piece,  where  the  joint  was 
located.  The  knuckle  may  then  be  placed  in  the  channel, 
lay  the  cover  on,  and  see  that  it  protrudes  nowhere.  The 
place  where  the  knuckle  is  to  be  located  must  be  exactly 
marked  by  two  lines,  and  the  joint  to  be  soldered  is  then 
tied  between  them.  It  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  same  spot  it 
occupied  previously,  and  pay  strict  attention  that  the  slit 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


H 


lies  in  the  middle  of  the  knuckle.  The  binding’  wire  may  be 
drawn  fairly  tight.  Next  apply  borax  to  the  middle  piece, 
and  let  it  run  well  through  the  middle  joint ;  blow  out  the 
excess.  The  solder  is  applied  both  from  without  and  within 
to  the  joint,  but  be  saving  of  it,  because  very  little  is  re¬ 
quired  to  solder  the  latter;  if  much  were  applied,  it  may 
easily  happen  that  the  solder  runs  into  the  joint,  prevent¬ 
ing  the  cover  from  closing  tight.  It  is  a  difficult  job  to  get 
the  solder  out  from  between  the  knuckles.  To  guard  against 
the  solder  running  in  between,  the  following  process  may 
be  employed:  Scrape  a  little  chalk,  moisten  with  water, 
and  place  it  in  the  knuckle  with  the  point  of  a  broach ;  this 
can  be  done  after  the  middle  part  has  been  supplied  with 
borax.  The  chalk,  however,  must  neither  communicate 
from  outside  nor  within,  where  the  solder  lies,  with  the 
borax.  All  the  preparations,  so  far  advanced,  solder  on  the 
joint.  Before  immersing  in  the  pickle,  the  middle  part, 
after  soldering,  inspect  it  closely,  to  see  whether  the  joint 
has  been  soldered  securely;  if  you  find  that  more  is  still 
necessary,  apply  it  and  repeat. 

When  the  job  is  to  satisfaction,  and  the  middle  part 
dipped,  inspect  the  bottom  joints ;  it  often  happens  that 
they  have  sufifered  by  the  bending  over  of  the  bottom, 
whereby  the  middle  joint  broke  off.  In  this  case,  file  a  pin 
of  brass  or  pinchbeck,  which  enters  firmly  in  the  bottom 
joints ;  let  the  pin  remain  in  them,  and  by  means  of 
bending  with  flat  pliers  or  with  a  riveting  hammer,  spring 
the  joints  back  into  their  original  position,  after  which  if  all 
three  joints  are  sufficiently  strong,  they  may  be  broached 
all  together.  Do  not  use  a  very  thick  broach,  and  be  care¬ 
ful.  Should  a  little  solder  have  run  into  the  middle  joint,  it 
may  be  removed  with  the  broach.  For  this  purpose,  place 
the  cover  upon  the  middle  part  and  with  a  broach  pass 
through  all  the  three  joints. 

When  bending  the  bottom  joints  with  the  flat  pliers,  use 
no  sharp, one,  so  as  not  to  injure  either  the  joints  or  the 
cover  rim. 


12 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


It  happens  frequently  that  from  careless  opening  or  vio¬ 
lence  the  joints  are  simply  torn  out  of  their  angle,  and  it 
is  not  necessary  to  solder  them.  In  such  a  case  take  off 
the  cover  and  dust  cap,  remove  the  lifting  spring,  and  file 
a  pin  fitting  exactly  into  the  joints,  which  is  inserted  into 
them.  It  is  then  possible,  by  means  of  bending  and  the 
riveting  hammer,  to  force  the  joints  back  into  their  original 
position,  but  be  it  understood  that  the  pin  is  to  remain  in 
during  the  operation.  It  is  immaterial  whether  the  bottom 
joints  or  the  middle  one  is  first  restored  to  its  position, 
only  never  hammer  upon  the  hollow  joint  or  try  to  bend  it. 
When  they  have  been  restored  to  order,  so  that  they  again 
open  at  right  angles,  grind  them  with  a  fine  stone,  or  with 
a  peg  wood  and  some  pumice.  If  it  be  found,  however,  that 
they  cannot  in  this  manner  be  restored  to  their  former  posi¬ 
tion,  and  it  is  desired  to  correct  the  defect,  take  a  small 
piece  of  thin  gold  or  pinchbeck  plate,  as  long  as  the  center 
joint,  and  from  the  outside  bind  it  against  it  with  binding 
wire;  it  may  also  protrude  a  little  beyond  the  joint,  not  in 
length,  but  in  height,  so  that  the  solder  can  be  placed  on  it 
from  the  outside.  Next  apply  borax  to  the  plate  as  in 
joint  soldering;  lay  a  trifle  of  solder  against  it  from  the 
outside,  using  as  little  as  possible,  to  keep  it  from  flowing 
into  the  knuckles.  The  piece  of  gold  plate  can  be  very  thin. 
When  soldered  in  place,  and  the  middle  part  has  been 
dipped,  file  that  part  projecting  from  the  outside  even  with 
the  middle,  part.  Finally,  all  the  three  joints  may  be  opened 
with  a  broach,  and  this  defect  also  has  been  removed. 

It  sometimes  becomes  necessary  to  use  new  pins  in  put¬ 
ting  the  case  together  again,  as  the  old  ones  are  more  or 
less  damaged,  and  in  such  cases  always  use  tomback  pins 
for  gold  cases  and  german  silver  for  silver  cases.  Take 
wire  of  a  size  to  fit  the  joint,  and  file  it  a  little  tapering  at 
one  end,  so  as  to  make  it  the  shape  of  a  broach.  When 
the  pin  is  filed,  and  it  is  found  that  the  bottom  or  rim  moves 
firmly  with  it,  and  that  the  pin  in  the  middle  joint  turns 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


13 


with  it  (this  is  important,  and  especial  attention  must  be 
paid  to  it),  shorten  the  wire  at  the  ends  of  the  joints,  file 
the  pin  even,  and  round  the  ends ;  it  is  advisable  to  take  the 
joints  of  a  good  case  as  pattern.  The  main  thing  is  that  the 
pin  is  rounded  ofif  equal  and  uniformly  with  the  joints,  so 
.that  no  corners  or. edges  protrude;  it  may  finally  be  ground 
ofif  and  polished  with  the  joints. 

The  pin  must,  when  the  bottom  or  rim  contains  two 
joints,  always  turn  with  it,  that  is,  the  two  joints  must  carry 
it  along.  It  is  not  very  easy  to  file  a  good  pin,  and  it  often 
has  its  difficulties,  therefore  it  is  well  if  I  give  a  few  addi¬ 
tional  directions.  If  it  is  found  that  the  pin,  after  it  fills 
the  joint  completely,  will  not  turn  with  the  two  end  joints, 
it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  middle  joint  is  not  well  opened 
by  broaching  and  hinders  the  pin  in  its  free  motion.  It  is 
commendable  in  this  case  to  widen  the  center  joint  a  little 
with  the  filed  pin  by  pressing  it  carefully  into  it.  The  de¬ 
sired  end  will  generally  be  obtained  hereby  and  the  pin  turn. 
It  is  a  matter  of  great  consequence  to  force  in  the  bottom 
pin  as  tightly  as  possible  into  the  joints,  since  it  is  of  great 
service  to  the  snap  of  the  bottom  if  the  pin  enters  very 
tightly.  Pay  strict  attention  not  to  leave  the  wire  too  thick 
at  the  end,  because  by  such  a  neglect  the  repairer  might 
force  open  the  fore  joint. 

Whenever  the  joints  admit  of  it  (that  is,  if  they  are  still 
strong  enough  and  sufficiently  long),  three  pins  can  be  in¬ 
serted,  and  in  such  cases  do  as  follows :  File  a  pin  exactly 
fitting  to  the  joints,  and  if  the  bottom  moves  firmly  with  it 
(it  is  immaterial  whether  the  pin  moves  with  it  or  not), 
mark  the  pin  with  a  small  file  at  the  ends  of  the  joint,  draw 
out  the  wire  again  and  shorten  it  at  the  marTced  places. 
Next  divide  the  pin  in  three  equal  parts,  and  arrange  the 
middle  piece  in  such  a  manner  that  one-third  stands  be¬ 
yond  the  middle  joint ;  the  division  may  very  well  be  meas¬ 
ured  from  the  outside.  If  you  have  the  requisite  length  (I 
call, especial  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  middle  pin  must 


14 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


neither  be  too  short  nor  too  long),  file  the  pin  a  little  at  the 
ends,  so  that  it  retains  no  burr ;  set  the  bottom  upon  the 
middle  part,  and  carefully  insert  the  pin  into  the  joints. 
First  use  a  pair  of  flat  pliers  for  the  purpose  and  finish  with 
a  punch.  It  is  thus  in  one’s  power  to  make  the  bottom  as 
firm  as  desired.  The  ends  are  finally  filled  out  with  wire, 
generally  using  the  same  one  for  the  purpose.  It  is  filed  flat, 
the  burr  removed,  and  the  ends  are  firmly  filled  with  it ;  if 
the  pin  cannot  be  withdrawn,  it  shows  that  it  is  sufficiently 
firm.  It  is  pinched  off  with  the  nippers,  filed  flat  and  then 
nicely  rounded  off  with  the  joints. 

SOLDERING  THE  BEZEL. 

It  happens  occasionally  that  the  soldered  ends  of  the 
bezel  burst  open,  either  from  insufficient  soldering  or  from 
forcing  in  a  crystal ;  this  is  a  piece  of  work  which  the  watch¬ 
maker  can  very  well  do  himself. 

To  solder  the  bezel  again  do  as  follows :  Scrape  the  place 
to  be  soldered  very  carefully  with  a  graver ;  or,  in  case  that 
the  bezel  should  be  sufficiently  wide,  with  a  fine  and  not 
very  sharp  file  give  a  stroke  over  the  ends,  which,  of  course, 
must  be  done  very  carefully,  so  that  too  much  is  not  filed 
away.  Then  take  a  piece  of  binding  wire  and  lay  a  few 
loops  of  it  around  it ;  before  it  is  tightly  drawn  on,  however, 
take  a  piece  of  wire  of  such  a  size  that  it  fills  the  glass 
groove  and  reaches  a  little  beyond  the  ends,  bend  the  wire 
to  correspond  to  the  groove,  and  lay  it  in,  after  which  the 
piece  is  carefully  tied  crossways  by  means  of  the  binding 
wire.  The  warping  or  bending  of  the  bezel  is  prevented  by 
placing  in  the  piece  of  wire.  When  it  has  been  tied  suffi¬ 
ciently  tight  put  on  some  borax,  outside  as  well  as  within; 
place  a  piece  of  solder  into  the  interior,  and  solder  care¬ 
fully.  It  must  be  remembered,  as  a  matter  of  great  im¬ 
portance,  that  the  bezel  is  to  be  first  glow  heated  at  the 
place  opposite  to  the  break,  whereby  its  elasticity  is  over¬ 
come,  and  only  after  this  pass  around  to  the  solder  with  a 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


15 


small  and  quiet  flame.  Soldering  effected,  remove  the  iron 
wire  and  pickle.  When  done,  and  a  little  solder  should  be 
noticed  either  in  the  glass  groove  or  on  the  outside  of  the 
bezel,  remove  it  with  a  small  file  from  the  latter,  and  cut  it 
out  of  the  former  with  a  graver.  The  bezel  is  finally  ground 
with  pumice  stone  and  wood,  then  polished  and  fastened 
again  in  place. 

THE  CLOSING  OF  THE  CASE. 

In  order  to  produce  a  good  snap  on  the  case,  it  is  first  Of 
all  necessary  to  find  out  why  the  case  will  not  close.  Do 
not  by  any  means  commence  to  work,  especially  with  weak 
cases,  without  reflecting  well  where  aid  is  most  needed. 
Cases  with  this  ailment  are  oftentimes  very  annoying,  since 
a  certain  well  defined  system  of  work  cannot  be  followed, 
and  the  repairer  must  often  have  recourse  to  tricks  to  obtain 
his  ends.  I  will,  therefore,  endeavor  to  at  least  try  to  give 
the  best  possible  directions  I  am  able  to.  If  the  case  is  so 
defective  that  bezel,  dust  cap  and  bottom  will  not  close — 
which  often  happens — take  the  case  entirely  to  pieces,  and 
inspect  first  the  middle  part.  If  this  is  so  weak  that  it  can 
be  pressed  together  by  the  slightest  pressure,  and  must, 
therefore,  be  strengthened  from  within  by  soldering  either 
a  piece  of  metal  against  it  or  flowing  it  with  solder,  it  is  bet¬ 
ter  for  the  watchmaker  not  to  attempt  its  repair,  and  to 
give  the  case  to  some  case  maker,  because  I  would  not  by 
any  means  advise  him  to  undertake  such  a  job.  If  the 
middle  part  is  sufficiently  strong,  however,  and  has  been 
pressed  together  only  by  careless  handling,  he  may  attempt 
the  correction  of  the  closing  in  the  following  manner :  Pick 
Dut  a  stake  with  as  thin  an  edge  as  possible,  fasten  it  in 
the  vise,  and  by  means  of  a  riveting  hammer  holding  the 
stake  in  the  middle  part,  seek  to  raise  the  outside  snap  edge 
by  careful  taps ;  the  bezel  closing  may  be  commenced  first. 
It  is  necessary,  however,  to  pay  strict  attention  that  the 
middle  part  is  in  as  round  a  condition  as  possible ;  should  it 


i6 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


be  out  of  round  or  bent  out  of  shape,  endeavor,  before  you 
expend  any  labor  upon  it,  to  first  get  it  very  nearly  back  to 
its  original  shape.  It  is  highly  necessary,  when  doing  such 
jobs,  that  the  repairer  proceed  with  the  greatest  caution 
and  coolness,  since  ends  are  easiest  attained  in  this  manner. 
When  the  closing  has  been  raised  up  and  the  middle  part  is 
round,  take  a  small  file,  and  carefully  go  over  the  closing 
at  the  middle  part  with  it ;  only  very  little  assistance  with  it 
is  necessary,  and  a  favorable  result  will  at  once  be  obtained 
If  the  rim  still  closes  very  loosely,  so  that  it  opens  by  the 
least  touch,  and  the  closing  of  the  middle  part  is  in  order 
and  regular,  seek  to  beat  the  rim  together  with  a  riveting 
hammer.  On  no  account  use  pliers  and  seek  to  pinch  the 
rim  together  with  them,  as  is  frequently  done. 

After  the  rim  has  in  this  manner  been  reduced  to  closing, 
examine  the  dust-cap ;  if  this  is  round  but  only  closes  very 
lightly,  beat  upon  the  closing  with  a  riveting  hammer,  by 
making  the  cap  snap  tighter  by  very  light  taps  upon  the 
extreme  .outer  edge.  In  this  instance,  as  in  every  other 
where  the  correction  of  the  closing  is  involved,  I  must  cau¬ 
tion  my  readers  against  the  use  of  pliers,  because  it  is  an 
error  to  suppose  that  ends  are  quickest  obtained  by  bending 
and  twisting;  on  the  contrary,  the  only  effect  of  this  work 
is  that  the  case  is  seriously  injured  by  the  operation.  If 
the  dust-cap  closes  very  lightly,  in  fact,  will  not  remain 
shut,  examine  the  closings,  and  it  will  be  found  very  often, 
principally  in  cases  with  brass  dust  cap,  that  the  snap  of  the 
cap  is  not  sufficiently  under-turned.  In  this  case  take  a 
small  graver  and  correct  the  closing  of  the  cap  with  it,  and 
the  result  will  in  most  instances  be  found  satisfactory.  But 
do  not  work  with  the  graver  upon  the  width  of  the  closing, 
but  upon  the  depth.  Of  course  the  graver  must  not  go  too 
deep  in  the  operation,  otherwise  the  entire  closing  would  be 
cut  through.  The  most  triflng  correction  is  enough  in  the 
majority  of  cases.  If  the  snap  of  the  dust-cap  at  the  middle 
part  is  pressed  together,  or  if  the  closing  does  not  lie  high 


I 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


17 


enough,  it  may  also  be  raised  by  means  of  the  riveting  ham¬ 
mer.  It  is  well  for  such  kinds  of  work  to  file  a  pin  which 
firmly  enters  into  the  joints,  and  to  test  the  closing  with  it, 
because  it  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  that  the  parts 
which  are  to  be  reduced  into  closing  also  move  firmly  in 
their  joints,  and  do  not  shake. to  and  fro.  The  pin  wire  is 
left  sufficiently  long,  so  that  it  may  be  taken  out  and  in¬ 
serted  with  the  pliers.  It  becomes  necessary  sometimes  to 
underfile  the  cap  closing  at  the  middle  part.  Having  cor¬ 
rected  the  closing  of  the  cap  in  this  manner,  test  the  bottom. 
It  is  very  often  necessary  with  this  part  to  first  straighten 
the  bottom  rim,  and  to  take  out  dents,  because  in  watches 
that  have  been  worn,  the  cases  are  very  often  all  out  of 
shape.  It  is  necessary  first  to  restore  the  Hm  into  its  cor¬ 
rect  position,  and  after  that  examine  the  joints,  which  are 
generally  out  of  order,  at  the  same  time.  Should  these  latter 
be  twisted  out  of  place,  fit  a  firmly  entering  pin  into  them, 
leave  it  in  the  bottom  joints,  then  take  a  pair  of  dull  pliers 
and  bend  them  back.  In  cases  without  spring  snap,  it  is  of 
no  importance  if  the  joints  are  bent  a  little  more  than  neces¬ 
sary,  especially  in  old  cases. 

After  rim  and  joints  have  been  reduced  to  order  (which 
is  very  essential),  a  fairly  satisfactory  result  will  generally 
have  been  obtained;  if,  however,  the  bottom  does  not  close 
tight,  seek  to  make  the  rim  narrower  with  a  riveting  ham¬ 
mer;  the  same  result  may  also  be  obtained  by  using  the 
planishing  stake.  The  latter  is  attained  by  fastening  the 
stake  in  the  vise,  the  rim  is  placed  into  it,  and  it  is  tight¬ 
ened  with  careful  taps  upon  the  closing  edge  of  the  rim. 
If,  after  this,  the  bottom  does  not  close  sufficiently,  the 
closing  at  the  central  part  may  also  be  remedied  by  filing 
with  a  cross  file.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the  closings  are 
made  a  little  conical,  and  it  is  well  to  take  a  new  case  as 
pattern ;  you  will  be  successful  with  attention.  If  the  bot¬ 
tom  closes  now,  but  still  not  regular,  take  the  case  in  the 
left  hand  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger,  and  with  the 


l8  REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 

riveting  hammer  give  it  slight  equal  taps  upon  the  outer¬ 
most  snap  edge  of  the  rim,  whereby  the  defect  will  have 
been  corrected.  Do  not  strike  hard  enough,  however,  to 
produce  hammer  marks ;  should  any  be  produced  by  acci¬ 
dent  remove  them  by  careful  filing.  When  the  case  has 
finally  been  restored  to  closing,  clean  the  parts,  and  put 
them  together.  With  new  cases,  especially  silver  ones,  it 
frequently  occurs  that  they  close  very  tightly,  and  obstinately 
resist  opening,  so  that  the  watchmaker  is  forced  to  ease  the 
snap  by  means  of  a  graver.  Although  he  will  sometimes 
accomplish  his  purpose  in  this  way,  it  occurs  fully  as  often 
that  through  ignorance  he  utterly  ruins  the  case  by  cutting 
away  the  outer  edge.  The  latter  process  is  entirely  useless, 
because  the  bottom  cannot  be  closed  if  the  outer  snap  edge 
is  wanting.  If  he  desires  to  employ  the  graver  to  ease  the 
closing,  let  him  slightly  cut  around  the  entire  circumfer¬ 
ence,  whereby  he  will  at  least  preserve  the  same  closing 
face. 

The  following  method  for  easing  the  snap  is  far  more 
speedy,  and  insures  success.  With  careful  taps  with  a  rivet¬ 
ing  hammer  upon  the  extreme  outer  snap  edge  of  the  rim 
seek  to  widen  it  a  little.  Should  a  few  hammer  marks  have 
become  visible  remove  them  with  a  dull  file,  and  next  pass 
over  the  rim  with  a  burnisher. 

It  occurs  quite  frequently  that  the  dust  cap  presses-  upon 
the  cap,  so  that  it  cannot  be  closed.  The  case  maker  has 
two  means  at  his  command  to  speedily  correct  these  defects. 
Should  the  pressure  be  only  trifling,  widen  the  hole  in  the 
dust  cap  from  within  with  an  emery  chamferer ;  this  is  very 
quickly  done,  and  the  hole  retains  a  neat  appearance.  Many 
watchmakers  often  try  to  correct  such  faults  by  the 
use  of  the  graver,  by  scratching  the  hole  from  within;  this 
remedy,  however,  is  objectionable,  since  the  square  hole 
is  deteriorated  in  appearance  thereby.  If  the  pressure  upon 
the  dust-cap  is  of  any  magnitude,  it  is  to  be  taken  out  ;  it 
is  also  advisable  to  take  out  the  bottom.  Silver  cases  have 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


19 


only  one  pin  in  the  joints,  which,  however,  must  be  taken 
out  in  the  same  manner  as  with  gold  cases. 

A  punch  may  be  employed  for  taking  out  the  pin  of  the 
dust-cap.  When  the  latter  has  been  taken  off,  lay  its  outer 
face  upon  a  piece  of  felt  and  a  small  piece  of  silk  paper  or 
polishing  leather  upon  the  inner,  so  as  not  to  injure  the 
gilding ;  next  take  a  half-round  case  stak^  and  with  an  iron 
hammer  strike  a  careful  tap  upon  the  place  which  is  to  be 
raised,  whereby  the  defect  will  have  been  corrected. 

Such  raising  may  also  be  produced  in  the  same  manner, 
at  places  where  the  dust  cap  presses  upon  the  escapement ; 
the-  tap  must  be  made  in  such  a  manner,  however,  that  it 
shows  no  bulge  upon  the  outside  of  the  dust  cap ;  also  con¬ 
sider  the  space  disposable  between  bottom  and  dust  cap. 

There  is  generally  so  much  room  in  silver  cases  that  a 
small  bulge  causes  no  inconvenience ;  if,  however,  you  find 
that  the  bottom  presses  upon  the  dust-cap,  so  that  no  rais¬ 
ing  can  be  made,  it  is  better  to  give  the  case  to  a  case- 
maker.  The  pressing  of  the  bottom  upon  the  dust-cap  is 
one  of  the  most  disagreeable  defects,  and  the  greatest  hin¬ 
drance  for  producing  a  good  closing.  Although  I  can  offer 
no  advice  to  the  watchmaker,  I  will  at  least  make  him  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  manner  in  which  the  casemaker  works  to 
make  a  bottom  higher,  which  is  not  by  any  means  an  easy 
task,  especially  with  new  watches,  which  must  in  no  man¬ 
ner  show  that  the  bottom  has  been  raised.  The  engine 
turning  is  so  sensitive  that  the  least  mishap  is  shown  at 
once,  and  it  is  then  very  difficult  to  obliterate  it. 

To  make  a  bottom  higher,  it  is  laid  upon  a  piece  of  heavy 
leather,  and  then  rub  uniformly  with  a  burnishing  steel 
from  within.  If  the  bottom  is  thick,  it  is  a  very  tedious 
piece  of  work,  and  it  must  several  times  be  glow-heated, 
especially  with  gold  cases.  If  the  bottom  is  well  worn, 
however,  less  depends  upon  a  neat  execution ;  a  stake  is 
fastened  in  the  vise,  the  bottom  is  laid  upon  it  and  well 
rubbed  over  with  a  good  burnishing  steel.  Seek  to  first 


20 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


raise  the  rim  in  this  manner,  which  will  greatly  expedite 
the  work.  I  repeat  my  above  remark,  however,  that  only 
old  and  worn  cases  can  be  treated  in  this  manner,  and  when 
nothing  depends  upon  a  neat  looking  job. 

When  the  bottom  has  been  successfully  raised  by  the 
specified 'process,  it  is  to  be  repolished,  because  the  polish 
has  been  injured  both  inside  and  outside  by  rubbing  with 
the  steel.  All  the  bulges  in  the  case  must  be  taken  out 
before  it  is  repolished,  if  it  was  not  done  at  the  time  of 
raising  the  bottom  by  rubbing.  For  this  purpose  fasten  a 
flat  stake,  which  is  to  be  free  of  blemish,  ground  and  highly 
polished,  in  the  vise,  and  then  take  a  good  wooden  ham¬ 
mer — this  must  also  be  polished,  and  consist  of  hard  wood 
— and  carefully  beat  out  the  dents  one  by  one;  they  may 
also  be  pressed  out  with  a  burnisher  from  within,  by  laying 
the  bottom  upon  a  heavy  piece  of  leather  as  aforesaid,  and 
carefully  pressing  out  each  dent.  Should  there  be  any  in 
the  bottom  rim,  place  a  stake  from  within  against  the  rim, 
and  remove  them  by  using  a  riveting  hammer. 

The  endeavor  to  raise  the  bottom  having  been  success¬ 
ful.  and  the  defect  removed,  cleanse  the  central  part  and  the 
bezel,  burnish  the  bottom  within  as  well  as  without,  and 
put  the  case  together. 

It  is  generally  very  easy,  with  cases  with  spring  snap,  to 
reduce  them  to  closing,  and  I  shall  specify  a  few  manipula¬ 
tions  necessary  for  the  purpose. 

It  occurs  sometimes  with  new  cases  that  the  bottom  will 
not  remain  shut,  because  its  snap  cannot  seize  far  enough 
under  the  spring.  To  remedy  this  fault,  take  out  the  snap 
spring  and  underfile  its  head  very  gently;  next  take  a  fine 
emery  file,  and  assist  the  spring  head  from  underneath, 
where  you  have  filed.  This  emery  file  is  the  best  tool  to  be 
used,  because  it  is  easiest  to  remove  the  burr  with  it  which 
has  been  formed  by  filing. 

Another  remedy,  equally  expeditious  and  easily  applied, 
can  be  made  use  of  in  the  following  case :  It  is  often  found 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


21 


that  the  bottom,  especially  of  old  and  worn  cases,  will  not 
close,  although  the  snap  of  the  rim  may  still  be  in  good 
order,  so  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  solder  in  a  piece 
to  produce  a  good  closing,  as  is  often  to  be  done.  When 
you  meet  such  a  case,  take  out  the  spring  and  file  at  the 
central  part  of  the  place  where  the  spring  head  rests  in  it, 
the  outer  closing  edge,  with  a  small  square  file,  forward 
out,  so  that  the  spring  head  can  stand  out  a  little  more. 
When  filing  out  in  this  manner  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
make  the  space  too  wide  at  the  sides,  and  that  of  the  closing 
edge  a  little  thread  still  remains  standing.  Then  take  the 
spring  and  examine  it,  to  see  whether  it  possesses  the  neces-  * 
sary  spring  hardness ;  if  too  hard,  draw  its  temper  a  trifle, 
and  next  place  its  neck,  the  part  between  spring  head  and 
screw  hole,  upon  a  small  piece  of  wood,  and  strike  the 
spring  carefully  with  the  riveting  hammer,  so  that  the 
spring  head  inclines  more  forward.  It  is  self-apparent  that 
the  spring  must  hereby  not  lie  hollow.  When  it  has  been 
straightened  in  this  manner,  place  it  into  the  central  part, 
and  ascertain  whether  the  error  has  been  corrected;  if  the 
remedy  has  not  been  sufficient,  the  treatment  of  stretching 
the  spring  may  be  repeated.  It  is  very  advisable  also,  in 
this  instance,  to  round  the  outer  edge  of  the  snap  spring 
with  the  emery  file,  whereby  a  good  and  large  snap  is  pro¬ 
duced.  If,  however,  the  spring  has,  by  a  long  continued 
use,  worn  away  the  closing  face  at  the  rim,  so  that  you  are 
forced  to  solder  a  piece  in  the  bottom  rim  to  produce  a 
closing,  the  moving  forward  and  straightening  the  spring 
is  of  little  account,  and  I  can  only  advise  you  to  turn  the 
job  over  to  a  casemaker. 

It  is  frequently  found,  chiefly  with  new  cases,  that  the 

bottom  will  not  fly  open  sufficiently  far,  which  error  is 

sought  to  be  corrected  by  many  watchmakers  by  applying 
a  little  oil  between  the  joints  and  the  head  of  the  lifting 
spring,  and  seek  to  render  the  joint  pin  more  supple  by 

moving  the  bottom  to  and  fro.  This  method  for  remedy- 


22 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


ing  the  defect  is  not ,  advisable,  however,  and  it  will  often 
be  found  that  the  very  reverse  is  produced  thereby.  The 
surest  and  speediest  manner  for  overcoming  this  defect, 
consists  in  taking  out  the  end  pins,  and  with  a  punch  very 
slightly  drive  the  middle  forward;  in  the  majority  of  cases 
only  a  very  trifling  starting  is  necessary.  The  operator  has 
it  entirely  in  his  power,  by  shifting  the  pin,  to  make  the  bot¬ 
tom  more  tight  or  easy.  When  set  in  order,  reinsert  the 
end  pins,  and  if  they  should  have  become  useless,  owing  to 
the  change  of  the  center  pin,  file  another.  It  may  also  hap¬ 
pen  that  the  middle  pin  has  to  be  taken  out  entirely  and 
slightly  weakened ;  when  this  becomes  necessary  it  is  also 
to  be  shortened  at  the  same  time. 

I  finally  mention  another  error,  easily  corrected,  and  one 
which  is  often  found  in  new  cases,  to-wit,  that  the  closing 
spring  is  pressed  back  when  the  stem  is  turned,  whereby 
the  case  flies  open.  If  the  closing  is  otherwise  in  good  or¬ 
der,  the  fault  will  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  push  button  is 
not  filed  out  sufficiently.  Take  it  out  and  correct  it  by 
filing  either  with  a  small  round  or  flat  file. 

TAKING  OUT  THE  DENTS. 

New  watches,  which  have  for  some  time  been  in  the 
store,  will  often  be  found  slightly  indented ;  these  dents  can 
easily  be  removed  in  the  following  manner :  If  they  are  of 
such  a  nature  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  take  the  case  in 
pieces,  it  is  best  to  leave  it  together ;  if  they  are  not  to  be 
reached  with  the  hammer,  the  case  is  to  be  taken  apart — 
this  depends  entirely  upon  the  nature  and  situation  of  the 
dents.  There  are  various  stakes  for  taking  out  the  dents 
from  the  central  parts,  according  to  the  size  and  internal 
shape  of  the  latter.  A  suitable  stake  is  found,  fastened  in 
the  vise,  and  by  applying  the  dented  part  to  the  stake,  seek 
to  raise  the  dent  with  the  riveting  hammer.  Generally 
speaking,  this  is  no  diffiult  work,  and  you  will  be  success¬ 
ful  in  the  majority  of  cases.  "When  the  dents  are  removed  in 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


23 


this  manner,  take  a  very  fine  file  and  file  over  the  places 
carefully — that  is,  if  the  central  part  is  smooth ;  in  a  con¬ 
trary  case,  of  course,  you  cannot  touch  it  with  the  file — or 
the  central  part,  in  case  it  be  smooth,  as  it  generally  is,  the 
place  may  be  ground  with  a  stone  and  afterwards  polished, 

TAKING  OUT  THE  DENTS  FROM  RIMS. 

For  this  work  the  casemaker  has  half  round  stakes  with 
thin  edges,  which  are  set  into  the  rims,  after  which  the 
dents  are  taken  out  with  the  hammer.  Afterwards  the 
places  are  either  filed  over  or  ground,  and  polished  again, 
as  previously  explained;  the  removing  of  dents  from  the 
rims  and  central  parts,  in  case  said  dents  should  not  be  too 
deep,  so  that  the  snaps  are  drawn  into  sympathy,  requires 
no  great  trouble ;  the  next  work  is  of  more  consequence. 

REMOVING  THE  DENTS  FROM  THE  BOTTOM. 

Several  appropriate  stakes  are  necessary  for  this.  At 
first  two  stakes  are  necessary,  a  round  one  to  straighten 
the  edges,  and  a  half-round  one  to  correct  the  faces  with. 
If  the  bottom  is  thick,  or  if  the  dents  are  rather  deep,  the 
repairer  can  at  first  try  to  take  out  the  dents  by  means  of  a 
flat  so-called  cylinder  stake  and  a  wooden  hammer,  by 
raising  them  with  short  and  steady  blows.  If  the  dents  are 
taken  out  in  this  manner,  and  only  a  shadow  remains  visible 
upon  the  bottom,  they  are  laid  upon  a  piece  of  leather,  and 
the  places  are  additionally  worked  over  from  within  at  these 
places  with  a  burnishing  steel.  With  old  and  worn  bot¬ 
toms  the  burnishing  steel  may  also  be  used  from  the  out¬ 
side  by  fastening  the  case  stake  in  the  vise,  holding  the  bot¬ 
tom  firmly  upon  it,  and  smoothing  it  from  outside  with  the 
steel.  I  would  call  special  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
burnishing  steel  can  be  used  only  for  the  outside  of  old 
cases,  because  the  engine  turning  is  very  sensitive.  Be  also 
careful  not  to  round  the  bottoms  of  either  cylinder  or  an¬ 
chor  watch  cases.  If  it  should  occur,  nevertheless,  that  the 
bottom  will  rise  up  in  the  middle,  take,  in  order  to  remove 


24 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


this  very  disagreeable  accident,  the  half-round  burnishing 
steel,  and  with  it  press  the  bottom  in  its  entire  rounding 
from  within  to  the  outermost  edge,  and  the  bottom  will 
become  flat  again.  Weak  bottoms,  however,  if  they  are  to 
be  restored  again  to  flatness,  must  be  placed  between  two 
glowing  plates,  since  they  can  be  reduced  successfully  only 
in  this  manner.  This,  however,  is  no  work  for  the  watch¬ 
maker,  since  the  tools  and  utensils  necessary  are  out  in  his 
line.  The  same  process  is  observed  for  taking  out  the 
dents  from  dust-caps. 

New  joints  for  the  dust-cap  become  occasionally  neces¬ 
sary  for  silver  cases.  When  it  occurs  file  the  hinges  entirely 
away  with  a  hinge  file,  and  when  of  proper  depth,  finish 
with  a  fine  round  file ;  next  spring  the  dust-cap  upon  the 
edge,  and  see  whether  there  is  room  for  the  new  hinges. 
Now  take  hinge  wire  of  the  size  of  the  previous  hinge,  or 
else  be  guided  by  the  size  of  the  brass  hinge  still  on  the 
dust-cap,  nip  off  a  piece  of  the  entire  length  of  the  old 
hinge,  and  secure  it  with  binding  wire,  paying  strict  atten¬ 
tion,  when  doing  it,  that  the  joint  is  turned  downward. 
Also  see  that  you  do  not  make  the  new  hinge  any  longer 
than  the  old  one  has  been,  since  it  might  easily  happen  that 
the  ends  of  the  hinges  would  lie  against  the  bottom  rim,  so 
,  that  it  cannot  close  at  that  place.  We  casemakers  do  not 
bind  on  the  entire  hinge,  but  divide  it  at  once  into  two 
parts,  bind  on  each  part  separately,  and  only  leave  as  much 
room  as  is  necessary  for  the  dust-cap  hinge.  The  first 
method  is  easier  for  the  watchmaker,  however.  When  the 
hinge  has  been  soldered  in  place,  pickle  the  middle  piece 
and  file  out  the  hinge,  that  is,  fit  in  the  dust-cap  hinge  into 
the  soldered  on  hinge,  by  filing  this  out.  When  done,  the 
soldered  on  hinge  must  be  opened,  with  a  broach  as  much 
as  that  of  the  dust  cap,  after  which  the  middle  part  is 
ground  and  polished,  and  the  case  is  put  together  again. 

It  happens  sometimes  that  the  hinges  qp  the  middle  piece 
are  still  in  a  state  of  good  preservation,  while  that  on  the 


REPAIRING  WATCPI  CASES 


25 


dust-cap  has  either  been  damaged  by  overstraining,  or  been 
broken  off  on  account  of  bad  soldering.  When  this  occurs 
on  a  brass  dust-cap  with  soldered  hinge  the  watchmaker 
may  undertake  the  repairs  himself,  but  should  it  be  a  silver 
or  gold  one,  I  would  advise  him  not  to  undertake  it,  since 
the  execution  of  this  job,  as  the  dust-cap  has  to  be  nicely 
polished  again,  is  surrounded  with  difficulties,  and,  besides 
this,  it  is  not  without  risk.  If  he  wishes  to  solder  the 
broken  hinge  of  a  brass  dust  cap  in  place  again,  secure  it 
with  binding  wdre,  its  joints  downward,  binding  it  right 
firmly  upon  the  place  it  has  occupied,  sprinkle  the  entire 
dust-cap  with  ground  borax,  also,  put  a  little  on  the  hinge 
to  be  soldered,  then  a  little  solder,  and  proceed  in  the  cus¬ 
tomary  manner.  It  is  well  to  drive  a  pretty  strong  iron 
wire  in  the  coal,  and  to  lay  the  dust-cap  firmly  against  it  to 
keep  it  from  falling  off  during  the  act  of  soldering.  The 
preliminary  moistening  of  the  dust-cap  with  borax,  within 
as  well  as  without,  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  its 
graining  during  soldering.  If  this  soldering  is  to  satisfac¬ 
tion,  pickle  the  dust-cap  and  broach  the  hinge.  In  case  the 
old  hinge  should  no  longer  be  fit  for  use,  and  you  are 
obliged  to  make  a  new  one,  of  course  make  one  of  the  same 
thickness  as  the  metal ;  remove  all  remains  of  the  old  hinge 
with  a  round  file,  which,  however,  perform  with'  necessary 
attention,  and  do  not  file  too  much. 

As  is  well  known,  the  hinge  of  the  dust-cap  in  cheap 
watches  is  riveted  in  place,  and  it  frequently  occurs  that 
such  a  hinge  has  become  loose.  In  order  to  fasten  it  again, 
the  majority  of  watchmakers,  as  well  as  casemakers,  drive 
in  new  rivets,  a  process,  however,  which  I  cannot  recom¬ 
mend,  since  hammering  and  filing  the  dust-cap  becomes 
necessary.  The  metal  of  the  latter  is  generally  very  soft, 
and  the  consequence  is  that  the  place  at  the  dust-cap  gen¬ 
erally  becomes  raised  by  these  violent  means.  The  gilding 
of  the  dust-cap  also  suffers  by  the  filing  and  smoothing 
down  of  the  riveting.  The  following  method  is  far  more 


26 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


expeditious,  and  the  cap  is  preserved  intact.  If  the  hinge 
has  become  loose  from  the  rivets,  take  out  the  hinge  pin, 
and  press  the  hinge  firmly  into  the  rivets  still  within  the 
dust  cap.  For  sake  of  caution,  the  latter  may  also  be  laid 
upon  a  flat  case  stake,  and  impart  a  few  careful  taps  upon 
the  rivets  with  a  small  hammer.  Then  supply  a  little  solder¬ 
ing  fluid  to  the  hinge  with  a  fine  wire,  but  very  little,  so 
that  it  cannot  draw  into  the  dust  cap,  place  a  small  piece  of 
tin  from  outside  upon  the  extreme  edge  of  the  joint,  intro¬ 
duce  the  dust-cap  into  only  a  moderate  flame,  and  let  the 
tin  flow  between  it  and  the  hinge.  The  latter  will  obtain 
more  solidity,  and  remain  cleaner  in  this  manner,  than  by 
the  insertion  of  new  rivets.  If  the  job  has  been  done  care¬ 
fully,  nothing  will  be  visible  of  the  tin  soldering,  and  the 
main  thing  is  to  preserve  the  gilding  intact. 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES. 


PART  II - BY  WESLEY  FENNIMORE. 


The  tools  used  in  the  manufacture  of  watch  cases  under 
the  old  system  of  hand  work  were  few  in  number.  On  the 
contrary,  the  tools  used  in  the  repairing  of  the  case  not  only 
comprise  all  those  formerly  used  in  the  making  of  the  case, 
but  numerous  small  tools  are  fashioned  by  the  workman 
himself  to  suit  the  kind  of  work  to  be  done. 

The  workman  should  be  skilled  in  all  branches  of  the 
trade.  If  he  is  not,  how  could  he  be  expected  to  renew 
and  make  over  any  part  of  the  case  that  becomes  injured 
by  accident,  or  worn  out  by  use  ?  I  have  seen  a  spring  put 
in  a  case  that  was  slowly  but  surely  prying  the  joints  off  the 
case.  Surely  such  work  is  not  skill,  but  ignorance  on  the 
part  of  the  workman,  and  the  owner  of  the  watch  foots  the 
bill. 

We  will  now  take  a  finished  case,  or  one  that  is  sold  as 
finished  and  supposed  to  be  correct  and  ready  to  receive  the 
movement.  We  will  start  this  way  because  the  case  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  finished  and  in  use  before  it  needs  repairs,  al¬ 
though  we  have  them  at  times  sent  to  us  for  repairs  that 
have  not  been  out  of  the  storekeeper’s  hands,  sometimes 
from  faulty  workmanship,  again  through  accident. 

We  now  have  the  case,  and  we  will  put  the  movement  in 
it.  We  find  the  movement  will  not  go  in  the  center ;  it  binds 
somewhere.  We  try  the  front;  it  is  too  close  a  fit.  We 
take  a  graver  or  hand  tool  and  relieve  the  front  by  cutting 
all  around  carefully,  after  first  gauging  the  part  we  are 
going  to  cut,  to  find  out  if  we  have  sufficient  thickness, 

27 


28 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


After  relieving  the  front  we  find  the  back  of  the  center  is 
too  small  to  receive  the  back  plate  of  the  movement  and 
must  be  cut  out  larger.  We  now  succeed  in  pushing  the 
movement  in  its  place,  turn  the  locking  screws  and  clo.se 
the  cap.  The  cap  shuts  hard.  We  listen  for  the  beat,  and 
find  the  movement  has  stopped.  We  naturally  suppose  that 
the  cap  touches  the  balance  bridge.  We  roll  up  a  small 
piece  of  clean  beeswax  about  the  size  of  a  pinhead,  place  it 
on  the  highest  part  of  the  movement,  and  again  close  the 
cap  over  it.  If  we  find  the  wax  crushed  down  close  to  the 
balance  bridge  we  know  that  the  cap  does  not  clear  and 
should  be  raised.  This  can  be  done  much  better  in  the 
case  factory,  where  they  have  facilities  for  repolishing. 
Again,  suppose  we  find  that  the  cap  has  ample  clearance 
and  the  movement  stops  when  the  cap  is  closed.  Should 
this  occur,  we  must  cut  out  the  back  of  the  center  so  as  to 
clear  the  back  plate  of  the  movement.  Also  relieve  the  cap 
snap  so  that  it  will  not  shut  so  hard  and  the  trouble,  I  be¬ 
lieve,  will  be  corrected.  The  trouble  I  have  just  cited  is 
rather  unusual.  It  has  occurred,  and  may  occur  again  to 
some  of  you,  as  it  has  to  myself.  It  is  most  likely  to  hap¬ 
pen  to  the  small  size  movements  and  filled  cases,  where  the 
centers  are  rigid.  My  theory  of  this  trouble  is  this:  In 
the  process  of  soldering  the  back  rim  the  center  becomes 
out  of  true  with  the  front  of  the  center  through  irregular 
heating,  which  causes  unequal  expansion.  Again,  it  may 
be  that  the  center  was  not  properly  trued  in  the  watch  case 
factory.  It  frequently  happens  that  glass  bezels  will  not 
stay  on  properly.  They  jump  off  and  cause  considerable 
annoyance.  I  have  frequently  seen  cases  that  have  the 
bezel  snap  on  the  center  hacked  or  cut  in  points  at  intervals 
all  around.  This  has  been  done  by  some  one  not  familiar 
with  the  injury  they  are  doing  to  the  case.  This  may  cor¬ 
rect  the  evil  for  a  short  time.  Snapping  on  the  bezel  a  few 
times  wears  off  the  points  and  leaves  the  snap  in  a  far 
worse  condition  than  it  was  before.  This  method  of  hack- 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


29 


ing  the  snap  should  never  be  resorted  to.  Should  the  snap 
on  the  center  be  at  fault,  the  better  plan  is  to  remove  the 
front  back  from  the  case,  put  the  center  on  a  lathe  and 
undercut  the  snap  with  a  graver,  working  the  lathe  around 
by  hand.  Should  the  bezel  be  at  fault  from  being  out  of 
shape  it  should  be  straightened.  Should  it  not  be  properly 
undercut  on  the  snapping  edge,  then  the  bezel  should  be 
placed  on  a  lathe  and  the  snapping  edge  properly  turned. 
Should  the  bezel  be  loose  and  require  tightening,  we  resort 
to  stamping  in  a  die  that  we  have  made  for  the  purpose.  In 
adjusting  the  snapping  edges  on  backs  and  caps,  where 
hand  cutting  must  be  resorted  to,  the  utmost  care  must  be 
exercised.  We  use  a  clean,  sharp  graver,  being  careful  in 
the  cutting,  lest  the  edge  be  left  irregular  and  lumpy,  which 
will  prevent  the  snap  from  opening  and  closing  properly, 
and  also  from  holding  down  or  not  remaining  tight  around 
the  edge  of  the  center. 

Cases  frequently  become  dented  and  out  of  shape,  either 
from  a  fall,  a  blow  or  from  a  rigid  body  pressing  on  the 
watch  in  the  wearer’s  pocket.  In  either  case  it  requires 
either  a  blow  or  pressure  to  restore  it  to  its  former  shape, 
and  it  is  here  that  the  experience  and  practical  judgment  of 
the  workman  is  put  to  the  test.  He  must  know  where  to 
strike,  so  as  not  to  force  the  metal  too  far  out  in  the  op¬ 
posite  direction,  or  where  and  how  to  use  the  burnisher  so 
as  not  to  have  the  back  of  the  case  kinky,  as  we  term  it. 
When  by  the  pressure  of  the  thumb  it  readily  goes  in  and 
out,  it  appears  to  have  lost  its  strength  or  set.  This  can  be 
corrected  by  heating  to  a  dull  red  heat  between  two  rigid 
iron  plates.  It  is  folly  to  suppose  that  anyone  not  experi¬ 
enced  can  properly  remove  dents  and  bruises  from  watch 
cases  and  restore  them  to  their  former  shape. 

The  storekeeper  sells  a  watch  to  a  customer,  perhaps  a 
friend.  He  wants  his  initials  engraved  on  the  shield  of 
the  case.  After  a  short  time  he  becomes  dissatisfied  and 
wants  to  return  it  for  a  different  style  case.  It  may  have 


30 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


been  sold  on  the  installment  plan,  as  this  is  a  favorite 
method  at  the  present  time  and  the  person  failing  to  pay 
for  it,  it  came  back  again.  What  is  to  be  done  ?  The  shop¬ 
keeper  thinks  the  cost  too  great  to  put  on  a  new  back,  he 
will  have  a  plate  put  on  over  the  shield,  making  a  plain 
raised  shield.  This  should  always  be  done  with  hard  solder. 
I  know  that  lead  solder  is  sometimes  used  for  this  purpose 
and  I  know  of  no  practice  more  to  be  condemned  than  the 
use  of  lead  in  any  way  about  a  watch  case.  You  may  think 
that  a  little  soft  solder  will  do  no  harm  and  it  won’t  show. 
Then  it  is  so  easily  done,  but  as  you  are  aware  cases  are  so 
liable  to  injury.  A  joint  may  be  torn  off  which  must  of 
necessity  be  soldered  on  with  hard  solder.  Should  the 
shield  that  has  been  soldered  on  with  lead  solder  escape 
the  notice  of  the  workman,  the  result  will  be,  if  not  a  ruined 
back,  at  least  a  very  much  disfigured  one.  No,  keep  lead 
solder  away  from  watch  cases.  All  necessary  repairs  can 
and  should  be  done  with  hard  solder.  It  requires  the  same 
time  to  fit  the  piece  that  is  soldered  on  with  lead  as  though 
it  were  hard  soldered  on,  and  while  one  may  properly  be 
classed  as  a  tinker’s  job,  the  other  bears  the  imprint  of  the 
finished  workman.  Some  other  parts  of  the  case  at  times 
come  in  for  their  share  of  lead  soldering,  and  I  now  refer 
to  pendant  bushings,  at  the  bow  holes.  We  at  times  find 
that  they  have  been  lead  soldered  and  where  the  pendant 
happens  to  be  of  the  hollow  order,  the  lead  runs  on  the  in¬ 
side  and  is  difficult  to  remove.  Again  the  case  may  be 
heated  to  redness  without  thought  of  the  presence  of  lead, 
and  the  pendant  is  either  wholly  or  partially  ruined.  I  have 
seen  a  mass  of  lead  melted  around  a  lift  spring  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  holding  it  in  place.  This  is  all  wrong,  as  the  lead 
must  be  removed  from  the  case  before  a  joint  could  be 
soldered  on  it.  Should  the  screw  in  the  spring  be  broken 
off  drive  it  out  with  a  pin  driver.  If  that  cannot  be  done 
drill  it  out,  if  the  screw  is  not  tempered  too  hard.  Should 
It  prove  too  hard  to  drill,  the  temper  must  be  removed  from 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


31 


the  spring  and  retempered  again  after  removing  the  broken 
screw. 

The  soldering  of  the  various  parts  of  a  watch  case  may 
seem  to  the  uninitiated  an  easy  task,  and  so  it  would  be 
were  the  parts  heavy  and  rigid,  but  when  we  have  a  thin 
shell  to  heat,  the  utmost  care  must  be  exercised.  The 
workman  should  have  a  good  burner,  giving  out  a  soft 
flame.  If  the  flame  should  be  too  strong  and  not  easily  con¬ 
trolled  with  the  blow  pipe,  the  opening  or  top  of  the  burner 
should  be  covered  with  another  thickness  or  two  or  even 
three  thicknesses  of  fine  brass  wire  gauze,  until  the  flame 
can  be  readily  controlled,  otherwise  the  part  to  be  soldered 
is  apt  to  be  overheated  and  ruined,  or  at  least  partially  so. 
The  use  of  the  blow  pipe  must  be  acquired  by  practice.  No 
general  rules,  that  I  know  of,  can  be  laid  down  for  the 
guidance  of  the  workman.  Some  prefer  one  with  a  small 
opening ;  others  prefer  one  with  a  large  opening.  For  my 
own  use,  I  prefer  the  latter,  as  it  gives  a  broad  and  softer 
flame  and  is  more  easily  controlled.  The  part  to  be  soldered 
should  be  carefully  heated  all  around  before  attempting  to 
melt  the  solder.  I  have  frequently  seen  a  glass  bezel  sent 
to  be  repaired  that  appeared  as  though  an  inexperienced 
person  had  made  the  attempt  to  solder  it,  and  had  blown 
fhe  flame  only  on  the  part  to  be  soldered,  leaving  the  other 
part  comparatively  cool,  with  the  result  that  the  bezel,  in¬ 
stead  of  remaining  round,  or  circular  in  form,  it  had  more 
the  form  of  a  looped  string,  being  entirely  out  of  shape  and 
useless  for  the  purpose  originally  intended.  To  properly 
solder  a  glass  bezel,  the  workman  should  remove  the  old 
solder  from  the  broken  edges  of  the  bezel  with  a  sharp  file, 
being  careful  not  to  file  away  more  than  necessary  to  clean 
and  prepare  the  edges  properly.  Now  take  a  piece  of  rather 
stout  iron  binding  wire,  about  an  inch  long,  bend  carefully 
to  the  true  circle  of  the  bezel,  bind  this  firmly  in  the  glass 
groove,  leaving  one-half  of  it  extending  over,  to  bind  the 
other  end  of  the  bezel  to,  after  having  one  end  firmly  bound 


32 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


cross  the  wire,  and  bind  the  other  edge  to  the  circle  of  wire, 
at  the  same  time  bring  the  edges  of  the  bezel  together. 
Borax  the  edges,  and  solder,  being  careful  to  blow  the  flame 
evenly  over  the  bezel,  and  there  will  not  be  any  trouble  about 
keeping  it  in  shape. 

Joints  frequently  become  strained  and  broken  off.  Should 
the  joint  merely  become  unsoldered,  the  old  solder  should 
be  carefully  cleaned  off,  the  parts  boraxed  with  clean  borax, 
bound  securely  in  place  with  well  annealed  iron  binding 
wire,  and  soldered  with  silver  solder.  Should  the  broken 
joint  not  be  in  good  condition,  cast  it  aside  and  cut  a  fresh 
joint  to  the  proper  size,  or  rather  length,  being  careful  that 
the  new  joint  is  of  the  same  diameter  as  the  broken  one. 
The  same  method  applies,  whether  the  joint  is  to  be  sol¬ 
dered  on  the  back  or  the  center  of  the  case.  We  use  well 
annealed  wire  of  about  24,  26  or  28  gauge.  In  binding  the 
joints  on  the  centers  of  very  thin  and  small  cases,  the  wire 
used  should  be  very  thin.  Thick  wire  will  not  hold  the 
joint  firmly  in  its  place  and  is  more  likely  to  press  the  cen¬ 
ter  out  of  shape.  We  frequently  use  a  double  strand  of 
fine  wire  in  preference  to  a  single  strand  of  heavier  wire. 

Should  the  pendant  setting  get  out  of  order,  and  I  now 
refer  to  the  Elgin  style,  consisting  of  a  sleeve  screwing  in 
the  inside  of  the  pendant,  we  sometimes  find  that  on  turn¬ 
ing  the  crown  the  movement  winds,  whether  the  stem  is  set 
at  the  winding  or  pulled  out  in  the  position  for  setting.  To 
adjust  the  setting,  it  is  necessary  to  take  the  movement 
from  the  case,  and  it  is  advisable  before  altering  the  setting 
device  in  the  case,  to  see  that  the  movement  is  in  order.  We 
sometimes  find  that  the  setting  spring  in  the  movement  is 
broken,  or  if  not  broken  it  fails  to  work  properly.  Should 
the  movement  work  correctly,  then  we  know  that  the  stem 
is  too  long  and  goes  too  low  down  in  the  movement.  Either 
unscrew  the  crown  and  raise  the  sleeve  in  the  pendant,  or 
if  the  case  be  of  the  hunting  style,  file  a  trifle  off  the  end  of 
the  square.  Care  should  be  exercised  not  to  reduce  the 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


33 


length  of  the  square  too  much,  or  a  new  stem  will  be  neces¬ 
sary.  Again,  should  we  find  that  the  turning  of  the  crown 
turns  the  hands  in  either  position  that  the  stem  is  placed  in, 
then  we  know  that  the  stem  is  too  short  and  the  sleeve  must 
be  lowered  in  the  pendant.  If  the  sleeve  cannot  be  lowered 
we  must  use  a  longer  stem.  These  pendant  setting  devices 
are  difficult  to  adjust.  At  times  they  try  both  the  skill  and 
patience  of  the  experienced  workman. 

We  believe  in  the  case  factories,  that  the  best  form  of 
case  spring  to  do  the  work  required  of  it,  is  the  one  made 
from  the  solid  strip  of  steel,  and  is  the  form  which  we  in¬ 
variably  put  in  cases  that  are  sent  to  us  for  repairs.  Our 
reasons  for  believing  the  solid  spring  the  best,  are  these : 
The  blade  of  the  spring  that  does  the  work,  must  have  some 
solid  attachment  or  backing ;  this  it  receives  from  the  butt 
of  the  spring,  which  we  are  careful  to  fit  in  the  center  as 
close  as  it  is  well  possible  to  fit  it.  This  gives  it  no  chance 
to  give  or  work  in  the  center,  and  throws  all  the  action  in 
the  blade,  where  it  should  be.  The  many  patent  case  springs 
on  sale  in  the  material  stores  are  of  little  or  no  value,  with¬ 
out  considerable  fitting  and  adjusting,  so  that  when  the 
time  consumed  in  the  fitting  is  considered,  the  cost  will  be 
about  the  same,  while  the  service  done  will  be  largely  in 
favor  of  the  solid  case  spring. 

Watchmaker  is  a  term  that  would  seem  to  imply  a  maker 
of  watches,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  the  early  days  of 
watchmaking  the  watchmaker  was  a  maker  of  watches,  at 
least  to  a  greater  extent  than  at  the  present  time,  and  what 
is  true  today  of  the  watchmaker,  is  equally  true  of  the  watch 
case  maker.  The  writer  remembers  some  years  ago,  that 
the  watch  case  maker  received  the  material  or  stock,  as  we 
term  it,  merely  rolled  into  shape.  It  was  unbent  and  un¬ 
soldered.  The  workman  was  obliged  to  solder  and  shape 
the  stock,  turn  and  joint  the  case,  ready  to  receive  the 
springs  and  for  the  finishing ;  but  the  growing  needs  of  the 
country  demanded  greater  facilities  in  the  manufacture  of 


34 


REPAIRING  WATCH  CASES 


both  the  movement  and  case.  In  casing  the  foreign  move¬ 
ments  the  use  of  machinery  was  not  possible  to  any  great 
extent,  but  the  production  of  the  American  watch,  making 
the  movements  of  a  uniform  size,  not  only  made  the  use  of 
machinery  possible,  but  profitable,  to  the  watch  case  manu¬ 
facturer.  It  is  true  that  the  introduction  of  machinery  re¬ 
duced  the  price  of  the  watch  case  to  the  consumer.  It  also 
reduced  the  quality  of  the  work  in  a  corresponding  degree, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  school  of  the  watch  case  maker 
was  almost  entirely  swept  out  of  existence.  This  assertion 
may  seem  singular  to  those  not  entirely  familiar  with  the 
trade,  but  when  one  stops  to  consider  that  the  old  time 
workman  prepared  the  stock,  turned  the  case  and  jointed  it 
ready  for  the  springs  and  finishing,  it  must  be  clear  to  the 
thoughtful  that  the  division  and  sub-division  of  labor  re¬ 
sorted  to  in  the  large  watch  case  factories,  prevents  boys 
from  learning  the  trade  as  they  should,  and  becoming  fin¬ 
ished  workmen.  The  tendency  in  the  trade,  for  some  years 
past,  has  been  against  the  apprenticeship  system.  Some 
years  ago  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  New  York’s  watch 
case  manufacturers,  said,  in  the  presence  of  the  writer,  that 
they  no  longer  took  apprentices.  They  did  take  boys,  teach¬ 
ing  them  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  business.  Becoming 
expert  at  this,  they  never  advanced  beyond  it,  and  it  fre¬ 
quently  was  the  case  that  the  wages  made  by  the  boy  was 
the  wages  that  ruled  the  man  when  he  arrived  at  manhood. 

It  is  the  conviction  of  the  writer,  that  in  the  near  future, 
the  experienced  workman  must  of  necessity  be  in  demand, 
if  not  in  the  machine  watch  case  factory,  he  will  at  least  be 
a  useful  factor  in  the  repair  shop,  where  the  various  parts 
of  the  watch  case  must  be  made  over,  and  the  worn  out 
parts  be  replaced  by  new  ones.  These  can  only  be  made  by 
workmen  of  experience  and  training,  but  where  are  the 
boys  to  receive  their  training?  Surely  not  in  the  large 
factories  that  are  ruled  by  the  team  system.  How  this  want 
of  the  watch  case  trade  may  be  filled,  we  must  leave  for  the 
future  to  determine. 


( the  KlaKftmaKm’  CaiDe ) 


(  ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE  ] 


“It  is  a  pleasure  to  realize  that  after  so  many  years  of  need  a 
work  on  the  watch  maker’s  lathe  and  how  to  use  it  is  published.  No 
doubt  it  will  meet  with  ready  sale,  as  it  deserves.  The  student  or 
novice  will  need  it;  the  experienced  watch  maker  will  need  it  as 
well  to  discover  a  possibly  better  method  of  doing  his  work.” — 
/.  H.  Purdy. 

“I  find  it  full  of  bright  suggestions  of  how  to  use  the  lathe.  The 
purchase  of  a  lathe  is  an  entirely  different  problem  from  that  of  its 
proper  use,  and  the  self  educated  watch  maker  is  usually  less  skillful 
and  accurate  than  those  who  have  had  the  advantage  of  association 
with  many  other  workmen  in  using  the  lathe.  A  copy  of  the  'Watch 
Maker’s  Lathe’  will  give  the  best  of  advice,  as  it  is  based  on  the  ex¬ 
periences  of  others  to  accomplish  good  work.” — H.  E.  Duncan. 

“I  have  looked  over  a  copy  of  ‘The  Watch  Maker’s  Lathe :  Its  Use 
and  Abuse,’  and  I  believe  that  it  fills  a  very  useful  place  in  the  list  of 
books  which  are  of  help  to  the  watch  maker.  The  subject  is  treated 
thoroughly  and  interestingly.  Many  things  concerning  tools  which 
are  but  vaguely  understood  by  the  majority  of  watch  makers  will  be 
rendered  clear  by  its  perusal.” — John  I.  Bowman. 


Sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  $2.00 


c 


HAZLITT  &  WALKER.  Publishers 
373  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago 


ishers,  ] 
:ago.  III.  J 


PUBLISHED  BY 


&  WJLX^KEIR, 

373  DSARBORM^  S'T.,  CHICAGO,  IX^i:.. 


Repairing  Repeating  Watches.  The  only  work  on  the  re¬ 
pairing  and  adjusting  of  these  complicated  and  interesting 
time-pieces.  Every  up-to-date  man  will  appreciate  it,  for  a 
glance  through  its  pages  shows  him  it  is  written  by  one  who 
knows.  Paper  cover,  30  pages,  well  illustrated . 

Prize  Essay  on  the  Balance  Staff  and  Cylinder.  Thirty-two 
pages  of  interesting  matter  on  a  subject  which  does  not  receive 
the  attention  it  should  do  from  most  of  us.  Very  fully  illus¬ 
trated.  Paper  cover  . 


35 


25 


Staff  Making  and  Pivoting.  Practical  instructions  for  the 
making  of  new  staffs  and  pivots.  Beginning  with  the  raw  ma¬ 
terial  this  article  takes  up  each  step  of  the  work,  showing  the 
requirements,  measurements,  kinds  and  shapes  of  good  pivots; 
together  with  methods  of  gauging,  grinding,  polishing,  etc.  Ful¬ 
ly  illustrated.  46  pages.  Paper  cover .  25 

Abbott’s  American  Watchmaker  and  Jeweler.  The  old 
standard  work  of  the  jeweler’s  craft.  This  book  is  such  a  well 
known  authority  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  make  mention 
of  it.  The  fact  that  it  has  been  through  twelve  editions,  be¬ 
ing  kept  constantly  revised,  is  alone  sufficient  to  show  the  es¬ 
teem  in  which  it  is  held  by  the  trade.  A  book  of  practical 
working  methods,  formulae,  tools  and  their  uses,  as  well  as 
historical  data  and  biographical  information.  Our  standard 
cloth  binding — maToon  and  gold .  $1  50 

Prize  Essay  on  Watch  Cleaning  and  Repairing.  Watch 
cleaning  and  repairing  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  as  well  as 
important  jobs  the  jeweler  is  called  on  to  do,  and  the  more 
light  the  man  at  the  bench  has  on  the  subject,  the  more  expe¬ 
ditiously  and  thoroughly  will  he  be  able  to  do  this  work.  More 
thoroughness  with  more  speed  means  more  value.  Your  salary 
depends  on  your  value.  This  book  will  be  of  assistance  to  you. 

Read  it.  Paper  cover.  39  pages .  25 

Watch  and  Chronometer  Jeweling.  A  description  of  this 
branch  of  horology  written  in  a  clear  and  instructive  manner; 
with  instructions  for  making  the  necessary  tools,  etc.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  practical  working  knowledge  imparted,  the  writer 
discusses  the  stones  used;  their  qualities,  etc.;  thus  giving  the 
reader  a  general  insight  into  the  theoretical  as  well  as  the 
practical  side  of  the  subject.  Very  interesting.  120  pages.  Il¬ 
lustrated.  Paper  cover .  35 

The  Tower  Clock  and  How  to  Make  It.  By  Earl  B.  Per¬ 
son,  formerly  instructor  in  machine  design  at  the  Chicago  Man¬ 
ual  Training  School.  Twenty  full  page  detail  drawings  and 
complete  elevation  and  plan,  14x18  inches,  folded  in.  The  sub¬ 
ject  is  one  in  which  every  watchmaker  should  take  the  liveliest 
interest,  and  one  upon  which  he  will  find  it  difficult  to  obtain 
such  information  as  is  here  .given.  From  it  a  watchmaker  can 
construct  a  clock  for  his  own  store .  1  00 


Friction,  Lubrication  and  the  Lubricants  in  Horology.  This 
is  a  branch  of  the  work  to  which  the  average  watch  repairer 
gives  but  too  little  careful  thought,  though  it  is  one  of  vital  im¬ 
portance  if  he  would  have  his  work  “stand  up.”  If  he  cleans 
and  oils  a  watch  it  is  to  his  interest  that  it  keeps  time.  If 
not  properly  and  scientifically  oiled  with  the  best  of  lubri¬ 
cants  it  cannot  run  accurately  for  long  and  the  work  will  soon 
have  to  be  done  over  again;  but  the  chances  are  that  the  man 
who  did  the  first  job  will  not  be  given  the  opportunity  to  do  the 
work,  or  any  other  work  on  that  watch  again.  Read  this  val¬ 
uable  little  compilation  by  W.  T.  Lewis.  It  is  small  but  im¬ 
portant,  like  the  subject  of  which  it  treats.  95  pages.  P^iper, 

75c.  Cloth  binding.  Aluminum  Title .  1  00 


Modern  Optfcs.  This  volume  treats  of  accommodation  and 
convergence;  presbyoiiia;  decentering  spherical  lenses;  transpo¬ 
sition  on  the  cross;  prescription  writing;  dissection  of  lenses; 
locating  the  astigmatic  meridian  in  astigmatism;  hyperopia; 
spasm  of  accommodation  and  asthenopia;  myopia  and  the  chro¬ 
matic  test,  etc.  A  book  of  interest  to  both  the  student  and 
the  practitioner.  By  Clifford  S.  Friedman,  O.  D.,  late  pro¬ 
fessor  of  refraction  in  the  Northern  Illinois  College  of  Ophthal¬ 
mology  and  Otology,  Chicago.  Paper  cover,  75c.  Our  standard 
binding  maroon  cloth,  gold  title .  1 


Theoretical  and  Practical  Optics.  Very  fully  illustrated 
and  covering  the  entire  theory  of  optics;  the  anatomy  of  the 
eye;  the  lenses  of  the  trial  case;  action  of  lenses  upon  light; 
transposition,  etc.,  etc.  A  manual  by  David  Ward  Wood,  late 
professor  of  Optometry  in  the  Northern  Illinois  College  of  Oph¬ 
thalmology  and  Otology,  Chicago.  The  late  Prof.  Wood  had 
a  faculty  of  making  knotty  problems  clear  even  to  the  begin¬ 
ner;  while  his  articles  were  always  welcomed  by  the  profession. 
Paper  cover,  75c;  maroon  cloth  and  title  in  gold .  1 


A  B  C  of  Fitting  Glasses.  A  manual  for  the  optician.  By 
Edmund  T.  Allen,  M.  D.,  Ph.  D.  Contents:  The  Fitting  of 
Glasses;  The  Record  Book;  Hypermetropia;  Etiology,  History 
and  Diagnosis;  Symptoms,  Objective  Signs;  Test  Types,  Pin 
Hole  Test,  Ophthalmoscopic  Test,  Treatment,  Regimen,  Prog¬ 
nosis;  Correction  of  Hypermetropia;  Myopia;  Etiology,  Diagno¬ 
sis,  Correction  of  Hypermetropia;  Myopia;  Etiology,  Diagnosis, 
Objective  Signs,  Tests,  Treatment,  Prognosis;  Correction  of 
Myopia,  Astigmatism;  Etiology,  Diagnosis,  Objective  Science. 
Tests,  Ophthalmoscopic  Test,  Treatment,  Prognosis;  Correc¬ 
tion  of  Astigmatism,  Presbyopia,  Correction  of  Presbyopia, 
Muscular  Asthenopia,  Etiology,  Diagnosis,  Objective  Signs, 
Hartridge’s  Test,  Treatment,  Heteraphoria,  Varieties,  Causes, 
Anatomy,  Tests,  Effects,  Ocular  Reflexes,  Higher  Prisms  an  aid 
in  the  treatment  of  Incurables.  Cataract;  Classification,  An¬ 
terior  Capsular  Cataract,  Posterior  Polar  Cataract,  Lamellar 
or  Zonular  Cataract,  Comical  Cataract,  Nucler  Cataract,  A 
Mature  Cataract,  A  Hypermature  Cataract,  Etiology,  Diagno¬ 
sis,  Objective  Symptoms,  Differential  Diagnosis,  Prognosis, 
Treatment,  Surgically.  Glaucoma;  Iridectomy,  Cyclotomy, 
Sclerotomy.  In  paper  covers,  75c;  cloth  binding .  1 


The  Embryology,  Anatomy  and  Histology  of  the  Eye  and 
the  Physiology  of  Vision,  by  Earl  .1.  Brown,  M.  D.,  and  Wm.  D. 
Zoethout,  Ph.  D.  You  can  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  eye  easier 
and  quicker  with  this  book  than  by  any  other  means.  There  are 
58  micro-photographic  pictures  of  the  actual  tissues  of  the  Eye 
taken  from  Dr.  Brown's  famous  set  of  slides  of  the  normal 
human  eye,  and  26  pictures  from  original  wash  drawings  il¬ 
lustrating  the  anatomy;  and  62  outline  drawings  illustrating  the 
physiology  of  vision.  A  very  complete  index  adds  much  to  the 
value  as  a  work  of  reference.  The  present  is  the  time  to  pre¬ 
pare  for  the  future  and  a  few  leisure  moments  spent  each 
day  for  three  months  studying  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of 
the  eye,  will  enable  anyone  to  gain  sufficient  knowledge  to 
pass  any  reasonable  examination  given  by  a  State  Board  of 
Examiners  or  to  discuss  the  subject  intelligently  with  his  pa¬ 
tients,  or  with  those  who  have  some  knowledge  of  the  intricate 
structures  of  the  eye.  In  knowledge  there  is  power,  and  es¬ 
pecially  this  is  so  if  the  optometrists  wish  to  be  recognized 
as  professional  men  by  the  general  public.  An  intelligent  patient 
expects  those  who  care  for  his  eyesight  to  know  something  of 
the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  organ  of  sight  as  well  as  the 
physics  of  light  and  lenses.  All  technical  terms  are  explained 
and  the  literal  meaning  of  every  Latin  phrase  is  given,  so  that 
any  one  with  a  common  school  education  may  read  and  under¬ 
stand  it.  Printed  on  ffne  enameled  book  paper  and  bound  in 
maroon  silk  cloth,  with  gold  back  and  side  stamps.  Price -  2 


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Compensating  Pendulums.  A  practical  paper  on  the’  con¬ 


struction  of  mechanically  perfect  pendulums,  together  -with 
dra-wings  and  measurements.  40  pages.  Paper  cover .  35 

Prize  Essay  on  the  Balance  Spring  and  Its  Technical  Ad¬ 
justment.  A  reliable  article  on  a  subject  on  ■which  there  Is 
but  little  reliable  information.  Our  standard  cloth  binding — 
maroon  -with  title  in  gold .  1  00 


The  Art  of  Hard  Soldering.  A  compilation  by  the  late 
Henry  G.  Abbott  of  the  best  methods  and  recipes,  together  ■with 
valuable  information  regarding  tools,  fluxes,  etc.  This  is  not  an 
untried  work  but  one  that  has  been  tested  out  time  after  time. 

It  was  first  published  twelve  years  ago  and  still  the  orders 
come  in  for  it.  We  need  not  say  more  to  the  man  looking  for 
a  reliable  work.  69  pages.  Fully  illustrated.  Cloth .  50 

Watch  Repairing.  For  the  man  at  the  bench  this  work 
contains  many  suggestions  not  only  as  to  the  best  methods  of 
performing  various  operations,  but  also  as  to  the  choice  of 
tools,  arrangements  of  bench,  etc.,  for  the  most  expeditious 
handling  of  work.  Of  advantage  to  the  experienced  as  well  as 
the  apprentice.  By  W.  B.  Sherwood.  63  pages.  Paper  cover..  35 

General  Letter  Engraving.  A  thoroughly  reliable  work. 

This  book  by  G.  F.  Whelpley,  an  acknowledged  authority  on 
engraving,  is  one  of  the  best  that  the  beginner  can  purchase, 
as  it  covers  the  field  from  the  drawing  of  the  simplest  lines 
and  curves  to  the  most  intricate  monograms  and  ciphers.  The 
older  engraver  also  will  find  plenty  of  interest  to  him  in  it.  Ill 
pages.  Paper  cover,  $1.00.  Cloth  cover,  gold  title .  1  25 

Modern  Letter  Engraving  in  Theory  and  Practice.  This 
book  is  recognized  by  all  competent  judges  as  one  of  the  very 
best  works  extant  on  engraving  of  letters  and  monograms. 

The  author  in  addition  to  being  an  adept  in  his  art  has  the 
happy  faculty  of  expressing  himself  with  great  clearness  so 
that  there  is  no  mistaking  his  meaning.  And  while  it  is  always 
best,  if  possible,  to  have  practical  Instruction  from  a  good 
teacher  when  taking  up  any  new  work,  it  is  nevertheless  pos¬ 
sible  for  anyone  to  take  the  above  book  of  Mr.  Rees  and  by 
faithful  work  to  befcome  a  proficient  engraver.  176  pages,  fine 
heavy  paper.  Over  200  iliustrations.  Our  standard  cloth  bind¬ 
ing.  maroon  and  gold .  1  50 

Modern  Electro  Plating.  A  hand  book  of  the  principles  and 
practice  of  commercial  electro-plating,  written  as  a  guide  for 
those  who  have  not  had  the  advantages  derived  from  practical 
training  in  the  modern  plating  establishments.  Telling  in  a 
common  sense  way  how  the  work  is  done;  with  instructions  ‘as 
to  the  management  of  batteries,  dynamos,  tanks,  the  action  of 
stripping  solutions  and  pickles;  formulae  for  the  different  plat¬ 
ing  solutions  and  the  hundred-and-one  other  details  that  are 
necessary  to  the  successful  working  of  a  plating  plant.  By  J. 

H.  VanHorne.  192  pages.  Illustrated,  indexed  and  bound  in 
cloth.  Title  in  gold .  1  00 

The  Watchmakers’  Lathe.  The  only  book  on  this  subject 

and  the  only  one  necessary  because  it  covers  the  field  com¬ 
pletely.  H.  E.  Duncan,  H.  R.  Playtner,  J.  H.  Purdy  and  oth¬ 
ers  at  the  top  of  the  profession  have  endorsed  it,  and  such  men 
would  not  do  so  unless  it  really  was  a  work  of  more  than 
ordinary  merit,  and  practical  value.  Every  one  who  uses  a 
lathe  should  study  it  if  they  would  be  fully  conversant  with  its 
possibilities.  By  Ward  L.  Goodrich.  268  pages.  230  illustra¬ 
tions.  Fully  indexed.  Well  bound  in  cloth  in  our  standard 
binding,  maroon  and  gold .  2  00 

Thirty- Eight  Secret  Formulae.  A  vest-pocket  book  of  38 
private  formulae  for  watchmakers,  jewelers,  engravers  and  kin¬ 
dred  trades.  These  are  the  final  result  of  a  chemist’s  extended 
experiments  in  the  production  of  plating  solutions,  polishes,  lac¬ 
quers,  solders,  fluxes,  buffing  compounds,  etc.,  for  a  jobbing 
firm;  and  the  ready  sale  with  which  they  met  speaks  for  their 
value.  The  book  was  originally  put  on  the  market  at  $2.00.  We 
are  going  to  close  them  out  and  offer  them  while  they  last  at 
half  price.  Bound  in  red  linen — gold  stamp .  1  00 


Acme  Watch  Guarantee.  If  you  desire  to  increase  your 
watch  repair  business,  purchase  an  Acme  Guarantee  book  and 
advertise  that  you  “give  a  written  guarantee  with  all  work 
turned  out.’’  Books  are  substantially  check  bound;  have  a  stub 
attached  to  each  guarantee  so  that  the  watchmaker  may  keep 
a  record  of  what  each  guarantee  covered. 


Book  of  200  Guarantees .  1  00 

Book  of  300  Guarantees .  1  25 

Book  of  500  Guarantees .  2  00 


Watchmakers’  and  Jewelers’  Practical  Hand  Book.  A 
bench  book  for  the  watch  and  jewelry  repairer,  containing 
many  private  formulae,  and  numerous  suggestions  as  to  mak¬ 
ing  repairs:  together  with  hundreds  of  notes  on  general  work. 

Fifth  edition.  118  pages.  154  zinc  etchings.  By  Henry  G. 
Abbott.  Paper  cover,  35c.  Flexible  muslin  cover .  50 

Acme  Monogram  Album.  This  little  album  contains  350 
artistic  two-letter  monograms,  each  complete  and  ready  to 
trace  and  transfer  to  the  work  in  hand.  A  monogram  of  each 
letter  of  the  alphabet  in  combination  with  each  other  letter. 

Paper  cover  .  10 

The  Watchmakers’  and  Machinists’  Hand  Book.  An  ele¬ 
mentary  work  on  the  science  of  watchmaking.  This  book  is 
intended  as  a  step  onward  for  the  watchmaker  who  is  educat¬ 
ing  himself  in  his  profession,  and  who  is  now  ready  for  more 
advanced  knowledge  than  is  required  in  his  every  day  cleaning 
and  repairing  work.  In  nearly  all  works  on  this  subject  the  ad¬ 
vanced  portions  of  it  only  are  treated;  writers  taking  it  for 
granted  that  the  student  already  has  considerable  knowledge 
of  the  subject  and  that  he  is  also  well  up  in  algebra  and  higher 
mathematics  generally.  With  this  book  it  is  not  so.  The 
English  and  mathematics  are  both  clear  and  simple;  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  interest  to  every  watchmaker  who  is  seeking  a  more 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  his  vocation.  By  W.  B.  Learned. 

60  pages.  Paper,  50c.  Cloth .  75 

Repairing  American  Watches.  This  is  a  46-page  essay  by 
J.  VanKeuren  (Detent),  the  author  taking  a  watch  and  ex¬ 
amining  every  part,  one  after  another,  proceeds  as  if  each 
were  either  out  of  order  or  broken  and  shows  the  method  of 
repairing  same;  and  evolving-  at  the  same  time  a  system  for 
examination  and  repairs.  Systematic  work  means  quicker  work 
and  better  work,  and  leaves  a  feeling  of  security  that  nothing 
has  been  overlooked:  that  the  job  will  not  come  back  in  a  week 
or  two  and  have  to  be  done  over  again  at  your  expense.  Read 
this  and  commence  systematic  work  now.  Paper  cover .  25 

An  Analysis  of  the  Lever  Escapement.  This  was  a  lecture 
delivered  before  the  Canadian  Watchmakers  and  Retail  Jewel¬ 
ers’  Association  by  H.  R.  Playtner,  Principal  of  the  Canadian 
Horological  Institute.  An  essay  which  a  man  in  Mr.  Playtner’s 


position  would  read  before  a  critical  audience  of  practical 
watchmakers  would  of  necessity  be  a  masterpiece.  Read  it. 

Cloth  binding.  Gold  stamp . .  50 

Poising  the  Balance.  A  27-page  treatise  giving  many  use¬ 
ful  suggestions  on  this  branch  of  the  watchmakers’  trade.  Well 
worth  careful  reading .  25 


Hairspringing.  An  authority  on  this  subject  says  that  not 
one  watchmaker  in  fifty  really  knows  a  properly  fitted  hairspring 
when  he  sees  it.  While  this  statement  may  be  overdrawn  we 
must  admit  that  what  most  of  us  “don’t  know  about  the  sub¬ 
ject  would  fill  a  book.’’  This  is  the  book,  written  by  one  who 
does  know.  Read  it  and  see  how  many  of  the  fine  points  you 
have  forgotten.  Paper  cover . . .  25 

Adiustments  to  Position,  Isochronisrn  and  Compensation. 

In  addition  to  practical  explanation,  this  work  explains  thor¬ 
oughly  the  principles  which  underlie  adjustments,  so  that  the 
reader  may  go  at  this  most  tedious  work  intelligently:  and  not 
by  guesswork.  50  pages.  Illustrated .  25 


Jewelers’  Practical  Receipt  Book.  A  flfty-five  page  book¬ 
let  of  receipts  for  the  jeweler  and  silversmith.  Eighth  edition.. 

Acme  Record  of  Watch  Repairs.  A  record  book  of  1,000 
entries  for  watch  repair  work;  each  entry  having  blanks  for 
name  and  address  of  customer,  description  of  job,  number  of 
check,  costs,  dates  received,  promised,  delivered,  etc.,  so  that 
most  complete  records  may  be  kept  with  a  minimum  of  effort..  1 

Acme  Record  of  Jewelry  Repairs.  A  record  book  of  1,000  en¬ 
tries  for  jewelry  repair  work;  each  entry  having  blanks  for 
name  and  address  of  customer,  description  of  job,  number  of 
check,  costs,  dates  received,  promised,  delivered,  etc.,  so  that 
most  complete  records  may  be  kept  with  a  minimum  of  effort..  1 

Acme  Record  of  Watches  Bought  and  Sold.  A  record  book 
of  three  thousand  entries,  ruled  to  show  make,  kind  and  num¬ 
ber  of  movement,  when  and  of  whom  bought  and  the  cost; 
when  and  to  whom  sold,  kind  of  case  and  price  received  for 
each,  also  total  price.  By  this  means  a  complete  record  of  your 
watch  transactions  may  be  kept  with  very  little  effort.  You 
know  how  long  each  movement  was  in  stock  before  being  sold; 
and  therefore  which  pattern  sold  quickest  and  which  ones  pay 
best  to  carry.  A  comparative  record  of  this  sort  is  one  of  the 
very  best  means  of  showing  you  where  you  stand  on  watch 
sales.  Substantially  bound  in  boards .  1 

Watchmakers’  and  Jewelers’  Practical  Receipt  Book,  A 
work  of  12S  pages  packed  from  cover  to  cover  with  receipts 
that  every  jeweler  should  possess.  This  book  was  first  pub¬ 
lished  in  1892  and  though  it  has  been  reprinted  a  number  of 
times  the  demand  for  it  still  continues.  It  contains  the  re¬ 
ceipts  and  formulae  you  want — from  simple  cements  to  the  re¬ 
covering  of  gold  and  silver  from  the  sweepings  of  your  shop. 
Tastefully  bound  in  cloth .  1 

The  Evolution  of  Automatic  Machinery  as  Applied  to  the 
Manufacture  of  Watches.  A  book  of  150  pages  describing  the 
various  machines  employed  in  turning  out  the  different  parts  of 
the  watch  of  to-day.  Illustrated  by  72  fine  halftones  made  es¬ 
pecially  for  this  book.  Of  Interest  to  all  who  are  interested  in 
watches.  Bound  in  silk  cloth — bevel  edges .  2 

Developing:  Its  Use  and  Abuse.  The  late  Henry  G.  Ab¬ 
bott  in  this,  his  last  book,  gives  the  reader  the  benefit  of  his 
experimentation  and  wide  experience  with  the  standard  devel¬ 
oping  agents,  as  w'ell  as  his  theoretical  knowdedge  of  develop¬ 
ing;  thus  enabling  the  photographer  to  undertake  this  funda¬ 
mental  part  of  picture-making  with  intelligence,  and  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  requirements  of  an  ideal  negative  and  how 
to  go  about  complying  with  those  requirements.  52  pages. 
Paper  cover  . 

Modern  Photography  in  Theory  and  Practice.  For  the  ama¬ 
teur  who  is  aiming  to  produce  really  artistic  work  this  book 
will  be  of  great  help,  being  written  by  one  who  was  an  artist 
in  every  sense  of  the  word  and  who  took  up  photography,  be¬ 
ginning  at  the  beginning,  and  mastering  each  detail,  in  order 
that  he  might  have  at  his  command  every  means  possible  of 
producing  through  photography,  pictures  of  artistic  value.  The 
results  of  his  investigations  you  may  get  from  this  book  and 
save  yourself  a  great  deal  of  discouraging  experimentation. 

By  the  late  Henry  G.  Abbott.  250  pages.  18  full  page  half¬ 
tone  engravings  and  numerous  smaller  ones.  Thoroughly  in¬ 
dexed.  Paper,  75c.  Cloth — maroon  and  gold  title .  1 


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